Shaking Off the Heart Demon
“I... I held onto Ryeon and... tormented her. I'm sorry...”
The uncle had wailed while clutching his young niece—how startled must she have been?
“They said you cried out of joy seeing the child playing. How could that possibly be torment? Please don't say such things.”
“Madam...”
Danmok Hyeon-u trailed off. Watching him, Wijicheong repeated what she had told him many times before.
“Ryeon's illness all those years was never your fault, Pharmacy Master.”
“No. If only I had protected her properly that day...”
Danmok Hyeon-u tried to rush on, but Wijicheong shook her head.
“It's probably my fault. I was so sickly, right up until I gave birth to Ryeon.”
“No! Absolutely not! How could you blame yourself, sister-in-law? That's ridiculous...”
“Then shall we agree neither of us is at fault?”
Only then did Danmok Hyeon-u realize how much consideration he had received, allowing him to wallow in self-blame all this time. This woman before him hadn't even had the space to blame herself.
A frail person gives birth and suddenly recovers completely, only for the child to fall ill—anyone would wonder at least once if their own sickness had passed to the child. Was it just once? A day, two days, five days, ten days... and for seven long years.
But Wijicheong could never have voiced it. They hadn't even had the leeway to comfort each other.
“Ryeon cried. She said she's sorry for worrying you all this time.”
“What? H-how...”
Danmok Hyeon-u nearly bolted from his seat, but Wijicheong's gentle restraint made him sit back down.
She smiled softly. “From now on, I hope you can pursue what you truly want without any worries or regrets. Stop fretting over Ryeon.”
It was a way of saying he no longer needed to deny himself achievements just because his niece was suffering, or to forfeit his own time as 'fair' compensation for what she had lost.
Danmok Hyeon-u waved his hands frantically, his neck flushing red. “I-I've always done what I wanted anyway. The seclusion training? I chose that because I wanted to.”
“Yes, yes. Once your cold's better, play go with me too.”
“Y-yes... just lay three stones for me.”
“Got it. But you have to recover quickly. We need to prepare for the Namgung estate soon.”
Danmok Hyeon-u nodded vigorously.
And so, the Danmok family welcomed the new year.
Grandfather and granddaughter sat side by side in lotus position, eyes closed, basking in the winter sunlight.
Clear, mild air drifted through Wolyeongjae. Specks of dust danced in the sunbeams, sparkling like stars.
“Your uncle has finally shaken off his heart demon.”
Danmok Cheon-gi spoke softly, hands on his knees, circulating the Yuseong Hwan-gyeol in meditation.
Ryeon snapped her eyes open with a sparkle. “Yes! His cold's all gone too. Finally...”
That 'finally' made Danmok Cheon-gi open his eyes as well.
“You knew about your uncle's state too? Well, of course you did. That's why I made you teach the branch disciples from the start, wasn't it?”
Ryeon just smiled.
Danmok Cheon-gi shook his head and finished circulating the Yuseong Hwan-gyeol.
“More importantly, Grandfather—you're coming to Kyunghang Yunryeon too, right?”
“Why? Worried an old man like me will cramp your style?”
“No way! You have to come with us. Please?”
As Ryeon wheedled, a faint smile crossed his scarred face.
“Hmph. You're the one insisting?”
“Yes! Your granddaughter's begging you.”
Ryeon said it playfully, but her mind replayed the road to the Namgung estate hosting this Kyunghang Yunryeon.
Kyunghang Yunryeon... This didn't happen in my past life.
In her previous life, she hadn't fully recovered, and Danmok Cheon-gi was still bedridden, so there was no chance for such a gathering.
There might have been other meetings, but the Danmok family was never invited. It was just a casual get-together among the murim families near the canal—what could go wrong? But with Danmok Cheon-gi there, how reassuring it would be if anything happened.
Beyond that, Danmok Cheon-gi and the Namgung family head, Namgung Hwan, were old friends and comrades who had faced Blood Valley together.
They hadn't met while Danmok Cheon-gi secluded himself. In her past life, Namgung Hwan had only seen him again at his funeral.
Ryeon remembered the old man's hot tears. He had seemed to shrink before her eyes, accepting Danmok Cheon-gi's death.
“There'll be plenty of kids your age. Ones who gripped a wooden sword before they could even walk.”
“Worried I'll lose if we spar?”
“Winning and losing at that age is just daily life. No—even a lifelong warrior can't avoid defeat forever.”
“You've lost before too, Grandfather?”
Danmok Cheon-gi burst out laughing. Her question sounded so innocent.
“Of course. Many times.”
“Then what's there to worry about?”
Even if victory and defeat were inevitable cycles, wins were sweet and losses bitter. Wasn't a grandfather's wish for his granddaughter that she only taste the former—like a medicine she'd soon outgrow?
Especially when he was counting the days until she no longer needed that tonic.
After the Balsa Sesu awakening, Ryeon had grown much healthier, keeping up with training effortlessly. But sometimes, she'd sway for no reason.
Even then, she'd smile brightly, blaming tangled spiritual energy that had sorted itself out. But on those days, Danmok Cheon-gi would brew her tonic anyway, knowing it was futile.
It was all he could do.
“...You're right. Listening to you makes the world seem free of hardships.”
“With you there, I won't lose.”
“Even if you do, it's fine.”
Danmok Cheon-gi was surprised at his own words—he could scarcely believe them. In a martial house, wins and losses were routine, but he'd never let his children grow complacent. Strict in victory, merciless in defeat. That was how the hegemon of Zhejiang must be.
“What if I make the other kids cry?”
“That'd be even better. Just don't go too hard.”
“Got it!”
Ryeon grinned at his words.
Her goal was unscathed longevity, and among its branches was 'completely eradicating Blood Valley.'
She couldn't do that alone. Blood Valley, once crushed by Danmok Cheon-gi, would flare up again in about a decade.
If we build bonds at every Kyunghang Yunryeon and raise their skills?
At ten now, they'd be twenty then—the future pillars of their families.
If these canal families held their ground against Blood Valley, it would help immensely.
Seeing her expression, Danmok Cheon-gi's smile turned worried.
“...Go easy on them.”
“I will. But deeper learning comes from tougher challenges, don't you think?”
“I told you to keep an eye on him, not bring him home and raise him.”
Baek Ui-myeong froze at the boy's words. He hadn't even had a chance to awkwardly fetch Hwaryun from the back room to explain.
How did he know everything at a glance?
“And you moved him from Hwanbyeok Pavilion?”
“Y-yes, to Gyoryong Inn a bit further out...”
H-how does he know?
It had seemed unwise to keep a ten-something boy at a tavern, so he'd negotiated a move. A plain inn offered no side income like the tavern, but maybe the kid could work as a page boy.
The boy crossed his arms, staring up at him before furrowing his brow.
“What exactly are you planning? Adopt him as your son? When you can't even fend for yourself.”
“N-not a son, but... sir, hear me out. When I got there, his family was about to beat him with a stick.”
“Why?”
“He failed the exam here.”
“Did you hear why he failed?”
“Uh, y-yes, I did...”
He'd heard it straight from the kid: feeding rotten meat to a rival.
“Then you know he might slip you something like Sangongdok and rob you blind.”
“...!”
Sangongdok—the poison that scattered one's neigong. A martial artist's nightmare. For Baek Ui-myeong, just starting to gather inner energy, the thought alone soured his mouth.
A chill ran down his spine, cold sweat trickling.
N-no, he wouldn't... probably.
“He's desperate... that's why...”
“Desperation excuses stabbing others to save your own skin?”